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Home / Returnee woman prevented by custom from appearing in court – Afghanistan

Amina fled Afghanistan following the Soviet intervention, returning in 2007 with her husband. She sought to claim property inherited from her father who had died 25 years previously. Other claimants for the five hectares of land were Amina’s brothers and her mother. Amina filed a case against her uncle. Denied by custom the right to appear in court, she nominated her husband to act on her behalf. Upon being awarded only one hectare, she asked NRC to intervene. An appeal to the Supreme Court dragged on for eight months, necessitating many visits to Kabul. In the end the highest court upheld the original judgement. The NRC legal adviser had to explain to Amina that she may have won if she had not appointed her husband as her legal proxy and he had not agreed a legally binding compromise deal with the uncle.